Old-Fashioned Pancakes Recipe & Great News

It’s been a year. A year of ups-and-downs. A year of fun. A year of confusion. A year of learning. A year full of making new friends. I maybe a few days late (okay, 24 days late), but I would like to celebrate a few things today. I would like to celebrate the birth of this blog, friendship, AND my college decision!!

Just last year, I was sitting on my MacBook, chatting with my best friend, saying, “it seems like people find my recipe posts on my personal blog more interesting than posts about me commenting about my everyday life.” Suddenly, I had an epiphany! I wanted to create a food blog! “A blog about food,” I said to myself. I liked it. And that’s when it all grew from there… I Googled “food blogs”, tried to get an idea of what I was getting myself into, then, I decided to create a name for the blog (which was hell!). Creating a sophisticated name for a blog owned by a teenager was kind of pushing it. Being a male teen food blogger was also pushing it.

I was now entering the territory of moms, chefs, and foodies who know just about everything and anything that has to do with food, writing, blogging, and photography. If I was going to make it in this community, I had to prove myself.

I am not sure if I have exactly “proven myself” yet, but I have survived and I did manage to make many friends during this time.

I’ve made friends with people who’s work I constantly drool over. However, I’d like to talk about one friend in particular, my friend Olga. Olga is the genius behind the amazing food blog, Sassy Radish. Olga and I “met” through twitter and through her blog; we’ve been blogging friends since. Olga’s kindness and passion are clearly evident through her personality and throughher recipes (and her writing). She is a financial genius by day and a culinary genius by night. Although her job keeps her immensely busy, she always manages to fit food and friends into her schedule. As my history teacher would say, “What a woman!”

I have failed to mention my new camera on the site, due to the fact that I wanted to thank the person who GAVE me their camera (out of the kindness of their heart), by dedicating a post to them. That person, is Olga. One evening Olga Direct Messaged me on twitter, asking me if I wanted her other DSLR camera. I said, “Sure! How much?” That’s when Olga corrected my mistake. She said that she was giving the camera to me for free! Yes, free!

Who knew that in a world full of war, hate, maltreatment, and confusion, a person could act so kindly to a teen who only dreamed that he would get something he began wanting since… The day he began taking photos. Who knew that dreams really do come true? Well, now I do!

Thanks to Olga’s kindness, and faith in me, I have been taking photos withan amazing Nikon D70s camera. I have yet to master how to use my new camera, but when I do, no one will stop me from taking amazing photos! Well, that’s my dream, anyway…

Olga, I thank you from the bottom of my heart! I cannot express in words, how appreciative I am of your kind gift. And Happy Belated Birthday, friend! Here’s to many more years of great food, great writing, and great friends!

Now, onto my college decision! I’ve decided to put it off until I made my choice and until the decision deadline was up. All because I didn’t want people trying to persuade me to go to another college. It’s silly, I know, but there is a method to my madness. I have yet to figure it out, but I’m sure you will before me! Anyway, the college I will be attending during the Fall of 2010 is Seton Hall University. I am going to try not to get into too much about my college decision because I am trying to teach myself about the fine line of “sharing information” and “sharing too much information”. But I will say this- I am very excited for college! :)

Also, if my family is reading this, you know, this would be a great gift for me! Hint. Hint. Graduation. Birthday. Hint. Or a really cool vintage typewriter (one that actually works!) would be just as awesome! You know both things won’t hurt, either…

So…

To celebrate Olga’s birthday, our blog birthday, and my college decision, I’ve decided to break tradition and share a pancake recipe (instead of a cake recipe) that I’ve had a penchant for making over the past several weekends. It’s an old-fashioned banana pancake recipe that will have you drooling after your first bite. Pancakes are technically cake, after all! Right? OF COURSE!

After seeing this pancakes recipe in theMad Hungry Cookbook, I had to askLucinda Scala Quinn, the author of the amazing cookbook, if I could post an adapted version of the recipe. So, with her permission, here it is. Thanks Lucinda!

Preparation:
Place a heat-proof platter into a warm oven (at 225ºF or 110ºC)

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Add in the egg, milk, and 2 tablespoons of the butter. Whisk from the center, slowly incorporating the flour. Mix in the mashed banana(s). Rest the batter for 10 minutes.

Heat a large well-seasoned cast-iron skillet, non-stick skillet, or favorite griddle over medium-high heat. Swirl the remaining tablespoon of butter in the skillet (or use oil to coat the griddle) and immediately pour in 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake. When the bubbles rise to the surface, flip the pancakes, slightly reduce the heat (kamran note: skipping this step doesn’t really change the outcome of the pancakes), and cook until the bottoms are golden and the centers are cooked, about 1-minute (Rarely does the first pancake work well- it takes a bit of time to get in the groove with the heat, fat, and batter).

As the pancakes come out of the skillet, place them on the warm platter in the oven until ready to serve. Serve a stack of pancakes, topped with more butter and the maple syrup.

Pancake Add-ins:
– Fold in ¾ cup of berries. Blueberries are especially good with banana batter.
– Sauté thinly peeled, cored, and sliced apples in a little butter with a dash of cinnamon. Spoon onto the uncooked side of the pancakes before flipping.
– Replace half of the all-purpose flour with whole-wheat, buckwheat, or rye flour.
– Toast pecans or walnuts, chop, and fold them into the batter. Slice fruit on top of the pancake before flipping.

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68 Comments

So, so, so happy for you! What a time in your life this has been. Congratulations on your college choice, and Thank you to Olga for being so generous! I guess what goes around comes around, eh, Kamran?

Jaime, thanks for the kind comment! It truly has been a great time of my life! -KS

Hey Kamran– Congratulations!! It’s good to finally hear your decision. Sounds like you made a thoughtful and excellent choice. They’re lucky to have you. (And I would be lucky to make a batch of pancakes that look as good as this. Amazing.) Here’s to your future! El

Kam, I’ll likely say this again tomorrow, but Congrats :). A year goes so fast, and more of them will pile up before either of us will realize. Not to mention the absolute wonderful generosity of food bloggers. I haven’t had the opportunity of meeting Olga, but I am headed over to her site the moment I’m finished this. You are going to do wonderful things, both here, at Seton Hall and far into the future in places that have yet to be thought of (or, have been only imagined ;D).

Great and touching post :)
People like Olga make you believe in the humanity again. In my case, I also “met” someone who surprised me with her generosity (Renae, from “I eat food” sent me a whole box of spices when I complained in my blog that some of them were impossible to find here. For free. Yes, awesome people exist)

And those pancake look terrific! Reading your posts should be fordbidden before breakfast :P

Now I’m craving pancakes, but I’ll have to grab something quick because I have no time: today is my last high school exam! Hooray! :D I woke up at 5AM to study (you’ll ask “what are doing here then?? Well, my brain needs a rest too :P)

I have also made my university choice, but it will depend of my mark if I can attend it or not (and I need a very high one! :S).

So happy birthday to your blog, and don’t stop delighting us with you great recipe and amazing photos. With the new camera you don’t have an excuse ;)

Ksenia, first of all, thank you for the kind and heartwarming comment! Secondly, I am sure that any Spanish university will accept your grades! You’re a smart cookie, they’ll love you wherever you go! Best of luck to you! :) -KS

Congrats Kamran on all 3! Your life is how you make it, so you deserve all good things coming to you. Banana makes anything yummy, have to try this recipe. Great to see you using your cast iron skillet, aren’t they just the best?

Congratulations on a year of wonderful blogging, making such dear new friends and choosing your school! I love pancakes and can’t think of a better way to celebrate such good fortune, your own and ours, for being able to share in these events and fantastic food with you!

CONGRATS! I’m so excited to watch you as you take this next big step. I loved my college experience! What a sweet sweet person Olga is. I am excited to see all the gorgeous photography I know we’ll be seeing from you!

hi my name is malou though i sometimes comment on your tweets but not im not sure if you recognize me…
anyways, congratulations on your decision.. i know how difficult it is to make a decision especially choosing from many good schools… good luck i am pretty sure you’ll do well..

how lucky you are to get a dslr from olga… ill be checking her blog right after here.. she’s so generous and kind to do that.. your pictures will definitely be better.. i still have to wait for my “olga” ahahah for now, ill be content with my point and shoot…

see you around!
malou

Malou, thank you so much for the comment! Of course I recognize you! And Olga’s blog is pretty awesome! She’s a very kind person and her blog really extends on her greatness! – KS

Ah Kamran…so many of us have been reading/watching/admiring this year knowing that you were bound for BIG things, and I think this college decision is proof of that. I’m so happy for you, and excited to see what you have in store in the coming months/seasons/years. As I’ve told you in the past…from an English teacher, you’re a rare exception to the “norm.” Congrats 10 times over.

Megan, your kind comment means a lot to me! I was always unsure of myself when doing things for the blog, but thanks to kind people like Olga and yourself, I have learned that I should just let things happen naturally. Thanks again! -KS

Congratulations, my smart, talented, sophisticated young blogger! College is awesome. I’m glad you took precautions NOT to let anyone make the decision for you…you’ll have the time of your life for sure!

And OMG! Olga is SO generous! She’s like the food blogger’s fairy godmother!

Thank you for the kind comment! Olga is more like my fairy god sister. -KS

Kamran – your passion and drive are the reasons I thought you were the perfect recipient for the camera! I’m so glad we were able to “meet” and I could give you something that has served me so well and you needed and wanted. I cannot wait to see the pictures you take – and enjoy the learning process – that’s exactly the objective. Thank you for your post – I just teared up and now have to go and fix my mascara :-) before work. Now, go and take more pictures!!

Congratulations on your decision to attend Seton Hall! It’s a fantastic university with a wonderful reputation. They’re lucky to have you! And thanks to kind Olga for fulfilling that long-held desire for a DSLR.

Congratulations Kamran! What a great choice you made too. I also love what’s on your wish list and hope you get it. I just added a gorgeous Hassleblad to mine. This is on my wish list, but way out of my budget. Maybe someday though :)http://www.hasselbladusa.com/promotions/h4d-launch.aspx

What great looking pancakes, and congrats on your new camera. I just trashed an old typewriter a few months ago, worked fine, I know you hate me now, LOL. I never knew anyone who thought they were cool, I’m too old.

exciting! The first time I came to this site I was amazed that a 17 year old was writing it, very professional and yet has so much vibe. It is wonderful that you have met such kind people through your blog/twitter, such as Olga- Have fun with your new camera!

Kamran, I am thrilled for you, for all your good news and for your new camera! All so well deserved. You have a very bright and wonderful future ahead of you. Keep up all your wonderful and inspiring work… And a belated happy birthday to boot!

Congratulations, Kamran, on both your blog anniversary and your college decision. I have a feeling that your hard work, smarts, and talent are going to serve you very well in life. Love the first photo!

Woohoo! Congratulations, that has got to be so exciting to finally figure where you’re going and what you’ll be up to next fall. Its been so much fun to watch your blog grow and develop. Can I just say I am in awe – I want to be like you when I grow up =)

You chose well and good for you being so sure of yourself.
I just tweeted for a recipe for banana bread as the black bananas sit staring at me. No one responded and then I opened your post (I know I’m behind). So tomorrow morning, it’s banana pancakes. Just in time.

I made these this morning and served with a chocolate maple sauce. Big hit. I used two small seriously ripe bananas. My batter was much thicker than yours though and I’m wondering if you added in more milk?

Hey Angela, I’m glad you liked it!! :) The batter in the photo isn’t fully mixed… All of the wet ingredients are still in the center of the bowl, when that photo was taken, probably one of the reasons why it looks so thin. The batter should be thick…

Kamran, congratulations!! I really don’t get to read food blogs as often as I like anymore, and I can’t believe I missed this post. What a big decision. I’m sure you will love your time at Seton Hall – take advantage of every second, it goes fast. You have so many exciting years ahead of you. I only wish I had the maturity, ambition and dedication that you have at your age. There are great things in store for you Kamran. Be sure to follow your heart – don’t let anyone tell you how to live your life :)

Congratulations on every count, Kamran, whether blog birthday, college, friendship or the new camera. :)
Wishing you all the best there is and everything you desire. All you need is to work at it and believe and things will work out.

Wow. I found you via twitter yesterday… and am just now reading your beautiful blog. I’ve read many posts and I am entertained and impressed by your writing, and in awe of your fabulous photography. I find myself excited to read more, and feeling as if I found a great treasure, want to share this blog with everyone.

Congrats on college – big decision. You have many wonderful experiences ahead, and I have a feeling you know that and will savor each one.

I’ve always been a pancake failure (my family can attest to that). But this recipe!! So good! I subbed the milk for buttermilk and wow, fluffy and soft pancakes with nice gooey bananas with every bite. Thanks for sharing :-)

This is such a great resource that you are providing and you give it away for free. I enjoy seeing websites that understand the value of providing a prime resource for free. I truly loved reading your post. Thanks!